Moss has had plenty of choice roles on the local theater scene as well, scoring acting nominations at the Wilmington Theater Awards for two years running. But Moss had never been tapped to carry a film before.

That all changed with "The Heroes of Arvine Place," a sweet, low-budget drama about Kevin Hedges, the struggling, widowed dad of two young girls who has a dream of becoming a children's book author.

"The Heroes of Arvine Place" was written and directed by former Wilmington resident Damian Lahey, who now lives in Jacksonville, Fla., where the film was made. "Arvine" won best feature, best director (for Lahey) and best actor (for Moss) at Brooklyn's Williamsburg Film Festival in September, and it screens at the Cucalorus Film Festival on Saturday at City Stage.

What keeps the character of Kevin going, other than his kids, is an impending contest judged by a famous children's book author that would net a publishing contract for the winner. It's a long shot, but it's all Kevin has after getting fired from his job early in the film and having to drive a graffiti-defaced loaner after his car breaks down and he can't afford to fix it.

Moss, who has a son in fifth grade and a baby on the way, said he didn't have much trouble relating to Kevin.

"Rather than find another job he's pushing through with this contest," Moss said. "When I first read it, I thought, 'He's kind of irresponsible.' Then I realized, 'Oh, I'm an actor. I wait tables and stuff.' "

The last couple of years have been kinder to Moss career-wise, and his performance – he plays Kevin as a lovable, down-on-his-luck Everyman who just needs a break – centers the whole film, which is largely populated by a cast of non-professional actors, a touch that gives "Arvine" a charmingly real vibe.

"If you like the film it's due in large part to Cullen," said the producer of "Arvine," Neil Boone.

Ringers in the cast include former Wilmington resident Robert Longstreet ("Pineapple Express," "Take Shelter"), who plays the famous children's book author and judge of the contest. (Longstreet also appears in "Bob Birdnow's Remarkable Tale of Human Survival and the Transcendence of Self" at Cucalorus.) The scene Moss and Longstreet share is an unexpected gem.

Lahey, who's had success on the festival circuit as an actor (the gritty "Cocaine Angel") and writer ("Children for a Day," directed by Wilmington's Glenn Pack), briefly considered playing the lead in "Arvine," but thought better of it.

"I did not want to direct and act," Lahey wrote in an email. "I also do not like the vibe of narcissism that's given off when you act in your own material."

Lahey wanted Moss to play Kevin as a regular guy, but Moss, a gifted mimic, said "my tendency is to want to choose interesting or active or animated choices." Adopting Lahey's gruff, rapid-fire tone, Moss did an impromptu impersonation of the director: "You're not Christian Slater, stop trying to be cool … This isn't 'Showboat,' Cullen. You're going a little 'Pollyanna' on me."

Moss then cracked up, making it clear that this was a back-and-forth he relished.

For his part, Lahey credited his time in Wilmington from 2000-2002, during which he worked on several independent films, with teaching him "a structure or method of sorts for producing micro-budget films," he said. ("Arvine" was made for about $50,0000.) " I literally did those films to learn how to produce movies of that size so I could do it myself when it came time to do my own films – and I certainly did."